Improvement in street-car starters



B. LEPPER.

vC ar Starter.

Patented May?, 1870.

N. Pneus, Pnnmmnosnpner. wmingxm tu;

tnited gtatrs BENJAMIN LEPPERQOF LOUIS, MISSOURI.

Letters Patent No.103,897, dated June 7, 1870.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and makin# Part 0f the Bam@ To allaehom it may conce-rn: Be it known that I, BENJAMIN Larrea, of the city and county ot' St. Louis, State of Missouri, have Invented a new and useful Improvement in Starting Street-Cars and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact dcscription'thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure 1 is a top view of the car, with levers and cross-head drawn back; l Figure 2, a section on the dotted lines A A; Figure 3, a. top view of the car, with the levers and cross-head drawn out;

Figure 4 is a section on dotted line A A, with levers drawn out; and 1 Figure 5, a view of the lever, with thepawl, to eugage with the ratchet.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same part-s. A is the frame of the car. B the wheels, with ratchet-teeth l) b. C, levers. c c, axles. D, springsto hold the levers against the wheels. E is a spring to draw back the levers. F is the cross-head' connecting with the'levers. G is the slot for the lever to pass through the crosshead.

H is a chain connecting the levers to the frame of the car.

h h, points of connection of said chains with the levers.

I', foot-level' t' t, spring on foot-lever.

K is the draft-rod.

k k is the-slot in the draft-rod for the bolt I and at pleasure, as hereinafter more fully described.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construc-l tion and operation.

I construct the wheels B with the ratchet-teeth b l) upon their inner side, with the lever C turning upon the axle, to which they are secured by the strap L.

They are provided with the pawls M, which fall outward to engage with the ratchet-teeth b b.

The free ends of the levers C, which pass through the slots G, are connected to the frame of the car by the chains H H, the said chains being slack when the levers are thrown back, and becoming tightened when they are drawn forward. vIn the latter' case they throw thc levers C and pawl M away from the ratchet,

and allow thc wheels to revolve without injuring the pawl M or ratchet-teeth l) b. g

The springs I) are constructed so to hohl the levers C and the pau-'l M against thcsl'atchet b b. When they are drawn back, preparatory to moving the wheels,

, thrown back when the draft'is suspended, and thc levers are put in position to act upon the ratchetwheels by means of the spring E.

To prevent the ret-urn of Ythe whole until it is required to start the car, the drnm-bar K is provided `with a slot, k L', through which, when it is drawn out to its full eictent, the bolt I passes. This bolt is operated by the driver, by means of the foot-lever I.

The manner in which my invention operates is as follows:

When the rod K is drawn out to its full length, and the driver wishes to take advantage of the levers C, he puts his foot on the foot-lever I and lifts the bolt I out of the slot in the rod K. This permits the rod K to ily back, and with it carry the cross-head F, which carries the levers O. back also. lVhen the levers are pressed against the wheels by the spring I), andthe rod K begins to move forward, it draws with it the wheels B by means of thelevers 0. By this means thepowcr is transferred from the axle of' the wheel to the circumference, which turns the said wheels with less'forcvc. By this means the wheels are turned until the rod K has run its full length, when the levers O arc again thrown fromtheir ratchetsand the wheels by thc chains H, as before, and the bolt I falls into the slots of the rod and prevents the rod K from flying back until thc driver so desires, when hc can again raise the bolt by the foot-lever. Thus the action may be repeated as' often as thc driver desires to avail himself of the use of the levers.

I claim the combination of the cross-head F, levers C, straps L, pawl M, inside ratchet b l), spring l), spring 14), chains H, foot-lever 1, bolt I, and spring 'i t, with each other, and the drawbar K, as described and for purposes set forth.

Subscribed on this 25th day of November, 1868,. at St. Louis, Missouri, in the presence lof BENJAMIN LEI'IER. Witnesses CHARLES H. Gnarls, GEO. W. HALL. 

